Red Patterson Dodger Starting Pitcher of the Future

Red Patterson, a draft pick of the Dodgers from last year, is looking pretty strong, fanning 10 batters in 9 innings. Now it's probably just a matter of time before he joins the big league staff.

Red Patterson couldn't ask for much more after pitching nine overpowering innings Tuesday night. Well, a win would have been nice.

Patterson recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts and allowed only two hits, but the Great Lakes Loons were blanked in 10 innings by the Burlington Bees, 1-0.

"Everything felt great. My body felt great, my arm felt good, pitch selection -- [catcher] Mike [Pericht] was calling a great game behind the plate," the Dodgers prospect said. "He was doing a great job keeping me focused and in the moment, and I was doing my thing. The defense was great. You couldn't ask for anything else.

"It was just one of those things where everything clicked."

Coming off his first loss in nearly a month, the 24-year-old right-hander set down the first 11 batters before Tony Thompson singled in the fourth. Unfazed, Patterson struck out Josh Whitaker to begin a new run of 15 consecutive Bees retired.

That streak ended when Royce Consigli singled with two outs in the ninth. But Patterson fanned Ryan Pineda on his 102nd pitch, ending the longest outing of his two-year career.

"I felt great, I felt in control, my body was still strong, my arm as still good, my velocity dropped off a little bit," he said. "I felt in control of the game, but I knew I didn't need to go 10 innings. We have guys in the 'pen."

Patterson, a 29th-round pick in last year's Draft, was matched zero for zero by Burlington's Josh Bowman, who scattered five hits and struck out four over eight innings. Like Patterson, Bowman did not walk a batter.